Meet Christina, Bid on a Ring, Get engaged with the world!
December 31st, 2009 Posted in Announcement, InterviewWelcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! =)
At GeckoGo, we believe travel is as much about understanding and giving back as it is about discovery and cool experiences. It’s why we were so excited to join peaceDOT and were thrilled when our friends from Bradt Travel Guides introduced us to Christina and we got to learn about her With This Ring Project, Committed to the World.
Starting on January 1st 2010 and ending on February 7th, Christina will auction off her grandmother’s ring (a 3.21 ct ring valued at $22,000) to raise money for causes started by fellow travellers abroad. Please spread the word, bid if you can, or at least make a small donation to any of the causes that seem meaningful to you here.
Here’s her story:
Thirty-something Christina Ammon is desperately trying to ‘get engaged’ — but not in the usual nuptial sense. After inheriting her grandmother’s 3.21-carat diamond ring, the world-wanderer has decided to put it up for auction. Not big on glamour, she’s turning an ‘affect into an ‘effect’; the proceeds will be donated to charity projects started by fellow travelers abroad.
She coined the term ‘vagabond philanthropists’ to describe the sort of free-form travelers who make a difference wherever they set their itchy feet. Among them are a British falconer saving vultures in Nepal, an American Buddhist who helped a group of beggars start a quilt-making enterprise, and a New Zealander helping children in Canoa, Ecuador.
“What these vagabond philanthropists teach us is that traveling is not an excuse to ignore our responsibilities as citizens,” says Ammon.
Her auction website features photos, ring appraisal specs, and profiles of the projects. It also links to a blog that details her adventures as an amateur diamond seller.
The bidding runs from Jan 1st thru Feb 7th 2010.
Hi Christina! How did you think of the ring project?
Well, as a thirty-something unmarried woman, I’m supposed to obsess a bit on engagement rings right? 
Actually, The Ring Project sprang to life after I inherited my deceased grandmother’s impressive diamond ring. It arrived in the mail on a winter day. I wore the ring for 2 weeks and it was gorgeous! So many compliments! But it didn’t take me long to realize that it didn’t really suit me. I live a rough lifestyle, traveling to developing countries, paragliding, living in-and-out of my van for parts of the year.
It seemed silly to lock it up in a safe deposit box. The appraisal came in at $22,000. I did the math and was amazed that a sparkly rock could have so much potential. This one ring could do any of the following:
- Protect 220 acres of rainforest
- Restore sight to 660 people in Bangladesh
- Provide clean water to 1320 homes in Mexico
- Send 133 Nepali children to school
The question became: Do I want a diamond ring, or a better world?
Tell us a bit about yourself
I managed an organic farm for eight years in southern Oregon, and have been very community-minded and active in go-local movements. But at age 32, I heard about this “gap” year some college-aged people take. I’d been so busy working that I missed out on mine! Well, my gap year has now become a lifestyle. As a freelance writer, my income is pathetic, but my career almost pencils out when living cheaply on the road.
But for all this wandering, I still crave the community that I enjoyed at the farm, and look to be involved wherever I happen to be. Travelers who cobble together a community on-the-fly and find ways to contribute inspire me.
How did you come up with the idea for this project? And how did you decide to use your Grandmother’s ring for this?
I came in possession of the ring just when I was discovering these great projects and looking for ways to get involved. Selling the ring seemed like the perfect way to recruit money, and at the same time, promote these projects. A ring also just happens to be the perfect metaphor for personal and global commitment.
On a more personal level, I suppose The Ring Project is a creative way to channel my own mid-thirties conflicts around settling. My family, like others, has a rocky history with marriage, and I think I’ve inherited some real hesitations about commitment. I’m always felt I needed to have “one more adventure” before I settle. Well, that mindset doesn’t seem to be going away.
But there are obviously some important lessons that come from marriage — selflessness, giving. I want these lessons, too. So, I’m sort of inventing my own version of “getting engaged” — to the entire world! That ought to stay interesting enough!
What are some examples of projects you’d like to support?
Quilts for Kids is a good one that I learned about one day near Boudhanth stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. My friend, James Hopkins, led me down a trash-strewn alley. It opened into a field of tent dwellings where he’d befriended a group of beggars, and helped them kick-start a quilt-making business. He sells the quilts online, and uses the money to pay school tuition for the kids.
What would otherwise be a pretty dismal place made of tattered army green tarps is adorned with bolts of colorful quilt fabrics. It amazes me that he just waltzed into this place and gave everyone hope. He studies Buddhism with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche near the stupa. The quilt project is the perfect compliment to his spiritual path and the richness it’s added to his own life is clear.
Another organization is Ethical Traveler, started by my favorite travel writer Jeff Greenwald. This group gets to the heart of what it means to be a ‘vagabond philanthropist’ by encouraging travelers to see themselves as “accidental ambassadors” and to use this power as a force for positive change.
Sarswati Foundation is started by a 22 year-old named Subhash Ghimire. He really is a rising star for Nepal, and has set up summer camps to restore a sense of childhood to the kids traumatized by the civil war of the last decade. Marc Gold’s 100 Friends is about as direct, heartfelt, and grassroots as it gets. Scott Mason’s Himalayan Raptor Rescue is genius. Finally, I’m supporting some less formalized efforts — a Chilean vet in Mexico, and a Peace Corps worker who works on behalf of her village in Mali, Africa. Also, Alicia Harmon, a New Zealander volunteering at a school in Canoa, Ecuador.
How did you first get interested in traveling to developing countries?
Traveling is in my blood. Though I was not able to meet my great grandmother, she was a big solo traveler — one of the first to travel to Nepal when it opened to outsiders in the 1950s. I was excited to get my hands on her travel letters — and then a little dismayed to discover that they largely detailed shopping sprees! Still, what an adventurous spirit she must have had!
My grandmother (who wore the ring) also traveled. She had a map in her garage covered with stickpins indicating the places she and my grandfather had seen.
I have inherited this roaming impulse.
How did you come across vagabond philanthropy?
I made up the phrase. It accompanies my realization that you don’t have to have a billion dollars, or stay in one place to be a philanthropist. What these projects all have in common is creativity.
James Hopkins (Quilts for Kids) is a walking lesson book on the personal benefits of generosity. When we were in Kathmandu, he pointed out how beggars give small coins to other beggars. Everyone wants to experience the joy and benefits of giving! There seems to be a pure human need to connect through sharing.
I hope to learn something similar by giving up this ring. A friend of mine told me about a generosity practice given to her by her Buddhist teacher. You take a rock and pass it from one hand to the other hand. It sounds too simple. But, you have to start somewhere!
What has been one of the most inspiring experiences you’ve had?
I’m writing this from the Himalayan Raptor Rescue Center in Pokhara, Nepal. Here, British falconer, Scott Mason, has pioneered a sport called parahawking, and takes people on tandem paragliding flights in view of the Himalaya. The trained raptors (all rescued from dire situations) thermal with you in-flight, actually landing on your arm in mid-air. It’s been humanity’s dream to fly with birds for so long, and it’s happening here! I’ve done it!
Sounds like a bunch of goofing off, doesn’t it? But the really great thing is that he is using parahawking as a platform to spread the word about the Asian vulture, which is nearly on the brink of extinction. Vultures are not very cute, but they have a vital role in the ecosystem. His work is having a tangible effect, as he raises money to create safe zones where vultures can feed on carcasses uncontaminated by the culprit, an anti-inflammatory called diclofenac. I admire this sort of creativity.
But all of the projects inspire me differently. These are stand-out people. I write all about them all on this blog.
If someone wanted to get involved in “vagabond philanthropy”, how would you recommend they start?
Right in front of them! There’s no need to sign up for Peace Corps in order to help out. Once I saw a tourist harvesting corn with the Nepali women right near Pokhara’s touristy lakeside district. I’ve seen travelers wrapping the leg of an injured dog. I met a Nepalese teacher and spent a day in his class helping out. Instead of walking around saying look-at-this, look-at-that, any traveler can choose to integrate a bit. Opportunities to help seem bottomless.
How else can anyone help?
Buy the ring!
Or, if that’s not in the cards, to really consider donating money to any of the projects on the auction site. Paypal-ing $10.00 can feel sort of perfunctory, but you are benefiting on subtle levels. Studies show people are happier spending money on other people than themselves. Go on the auction projects page and test that theory out!
Is there anything else you want to share?
A lot of diamonds have dicey politics associated with them. Many were mined by slaves in Africa and then sold to fund conflicts. When you think about it, that’s an odd way to start living “happily ever after.”
Consider giving your life partner a ring with a better story. With a winning-bid, this 3.21 carat diamond ring can accomplish a lot and, along the way, transform from a mere gem into a true beacon of richness and connection.
Thanks Christina! Good luck with everything!
Please help spread the word on this project, and also consider donating!
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